So now, from this mad passion Which made me take art for an idol and a king I have learnt the burden of error that it bore And what misfortune springs from man's desire... The world's frivolities have robbed me of the time That I was given for reflecting upon God.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the dangers of allowing passion for art to distract from spiritual reflection.
Michelangelo expresses a deep regret about how his intense passion for art, which he revered almost as an idol, led him astray from contemplating deeper spiritual truths and his relationship with God. He acknowledges that this obsession has not only caused personal misfortune but has also diverted his time away from meaningful reflection, highlighting the tension between worldly desires and spiritual fulfillment.
In practice
During a lecture on the importance of balance in life, I quoted Michelangelo to illustrate how passions can distract us from spiritual growth.
The art of creation lies in the gift of perceiving the particular and generalizing it, thus creating the particular again. It is therefore a powerful transforming force and a generator of creative solutions in relation to a given problem.
The best artist has that thought alone Which is contained within the marble shell; The sculptor's hand can only break the spell To free the figures slumbering in the stone.
Art lives on constraint and dies of freedom.
If it be true that any beautiful thing raises the pure and just desire of man from earth to God, the eternal fount of all, such I believe my love.
Every beauty which is seen here by persons of perception resembles more than anything else that celestial source from which we all are come.
There is an angel imprisoned in it and I must set it free.
My career is as an actress. I am an actress playing a comedienne.
There is a sensuality about fabric. I think all materials should be inviting when they touch the skin. When I watch children stroking their mother's clothes, I feel that I have succeeded.
Everybody, no matter what vocation they're looking at, should add music as an essential to their curriculum. Music can be a very important part of your soul and your growth as a human being. It's so powerful.
The Theatre of the Oppressed is theatre in this most archaic application of the word. In this usage, all human beings are Actors (they act!) and Spectators (they observe!).
The film medium is some sort of magic. I think also it's a magic that every frame comes and stands still for a fraction of a second and then it darkens. A half part of the time when you see a picture you sit in complete darkness. Isn't that fascinating? That is magic.
I think it's important, if you are an artist, to use your music to stand up for what you believe in.
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